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Title – Police losing fight to stop cocaine useSource – The Independent
Date – 31st October 2008
That the government is proud to announce that the use of cocaine amongst adults is now broadly stable or that it has reached a plateau, should be of some concern to those who have to deal with the consequences of cocaine use by their employees, customers or others. The concern is, not that they have stopped growth, but rather that there has been a natural cessation of growth; it suggests a complete lack of control.
There does seem to be an acceptance of inevitability on those enforcing drug laws on various different levels, an acceptance that nothing is going to stop traffickers and users and that it is a losing battle we are fighting. There also seem to be a lot of urban myths as to the effects of Cocaine use, to the point where in many circles the use is seen as acceptable or even a status symbol.
Cocaine users in general see themselves as different to crack, heroin, methamphetamine and other class A drug users. Somehow these are seen as degenerative or ‘drug addicts’ drugs of choice, where in some circles Cocaine is seen as a sign of success; the champagne of the illegal drug world, as opposed to the special brew consumed by the alcoholics and down-and-outs.
The battle lines need to be redrawn if there is to be any success in the battle against Cocaine use; it is a class A drug it carries a maximum 14 year sentence for possession; it carries a life term for supply; and yes getting hold of a little ‘Charlie’ for a mate is classed as supply. However more importantly it is an addictive drug, it can lead to the use of other destructive and even more addictive class A drugs; and importantly it has serious negative effects on health, some of which we may yet have to fully experience until the ‘cocaine generation’ get older.
The most important message though I believe the government need to send out and we all need to help get out there, is that Cocaine use is not a sign of success, but a sign of failure. It is not a drug without consequence on health, the criminal economy, the population of Columbia and the severe destruction of the rainforests; Cocaine use in the UK is having a very serious effect on global warming… Ultimately Cocaine users should be made to realise what they are, no better than crack, meth amphetamine or heroin users. They are dependent on a substance whose purity they have no control over, we need to make Cocaine use socially unacceptable by showing the reality of what users are really ‘snorting’ and breaking the link to celebrity and glamour. We need friends and colleagues to be disgusted by weak willed people who need drugs to prop themselves up, we need colleagues and friends to stop turning a blind eye or somehow feeling peer pressure to join in with the glamour. How glamorous is it really to ‘snort’ anaesthetics, pain killers, opiates, antiseptics and all the other unspeakable by-products ‘cut’ into cocaine?
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Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses looking at illegal drug use in a variety of different environments. For the Licensed Retail Sector we run the National Certificate for Licensees – Drugs Awareness (NCLDA). We also briefly review drugs in some of our other courses such as the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) and the Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR). For the Security Industry we cover illegal drugs in both our National Certificate for Door Supervisors (NCDS) and our In-House Security Induction (IHSI). For people looking for a course exclusively focussing on Drug Awareness we run bespoke half or one day courses on Drug Awareness (DA) designed specifically for their environment, be that in enforcing zero tolerance policies, dealing with the consequence of drug use or for schools and colleges to make students aware of the effects of drug use. For our bespoke Drugs Awareness course please Contact Us or call 0845 602 55 95.Date – 31st October 2008
That the government is proud to announce that the use of cocaine amongst adults is now broadly stable or that it has reached a plateau, should be of some concern to those who have to deal with the consequences of cocaine use by their employees, customers or others. The concern is, not that they have stopped growth, but rather that there has been a natural cessation of growth; it suggests a complete lack of control.
There does seem to be an acceptance of inevitability on those enforcing drug laws on various different levels, an acceptance that nothing is going to stop traffickers and users and that it is a losing battle we are fighting. There also seem to be a lot of urban myths as to the effects of Cocaine use, to the point where in many circles the use is seen as acceptable or even a status symbol.
Cocaine users in general see themselves as different to crack, heroin, methamphetamine and other class A drug users. Somehow these are seen as degenerative or ‘drug addicts’ drugs of choice, where in some circles Cocaine is seen as a sign of success; the champagne of the illegal drug world, as opposed to the special brew consumed by the alcoholics and down-and-outs.
The battle lines need to be redrawn if there is to be any success in the battle against Cocaine use; it is a class A drug it carries a maximum 14 year sentence for possession; it carries a life term for supply; and yes getting hold of a little ‘Charlie’ for a mate is classed as supply. However more importantly it is an addictive drug, it can lead to the use of other destructive and even more addictive class A drugs; and importantly it has serious negative effects on health, some of which we may yet have to fully experience until the ‘cocaine generation’ get older.
The most important message though I believe the government need to send out and we all need to help get out there, is that Cocaine use is not a sign of success, but a sign of failure. It is not a drug without consequence on health, the criminal economy, the population of Columbia and the severe destruction of the rainforests; Cocaine use in the UK is having a very serious effect on global warming… Ultimately Cocaine users should be made to realise what they are, no better than crack, meth amphetamine or heroin users. They are dependent on a substance whose purity they have no control over, we need to make Cocaine use socially unacceptable by showing the reality of what users are really ‘snorting’ and breaking the link to celebrity and glamour. We need friends and colleagues to be disgusted by weak willed people who need drugs to prop themselves up, we need colleagues and friends to stop turning a blind eye or somehow feeling peer pressure to join in with the glamour. How glamorous is it really to ‘snort’ anaesthetics, pain killers, opiates, antiseptics and all the other unspeakable by-products ‘cut’ into cocaine?
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